Report: Slavery 'alive and well' in Florida

JACKIE HALLIFAXAssociated Press Writer

Published Thursday, February 26, 2004

TALLAHASSEE -- Human trafficking -- modern-day slavery -- is "alive and well ... right here in our own back yard," the head of a human rights center said Tuesday as it released a report on people forced to work as prostitutes, pickers and maids across Florida.

Traffickers bring thousands of people into the United States each year and Florida is believed to be one of the top three destinations, along with New York and Texas, according to the Center for the Advancement of Human Rights at Florida State University.

Although there have been several high-profile prosecutions of human trafficking in Florida, many people don't realize the extent or even existence of the problem, according to the center's report.

But no one knows how many people in Florida are under the control of traffickers, said Terry Coonan, executive director of the center.

In South Florida, federal prosecutions have indicated hundreds of farmworkers were victims of human trafficking and a forced prostitution ring identified as many as 40 young women and girls brought from Mexico. The center also cited a case of "domestic servitude" in southwestern Florida.

But the problem is not limited to those areas or those industries, according to Robin Thompson, director of the research project.

"All you have to do is look where cheap labor is required and where there is a potential for labor exploitation, which pretty much can put you anywhere in our state."

The center organized a "working group" of advocates and law enforcement to study the issue. The project was funded by a federal grant under a 2000 law designed to increase protections for victims of human trafficking.

Lt. Bill Rule, with the Collier County Sheriff's office, works with victims and served on the center's working group. He called human trafficking "one of the most lucrative businesses" that criminals might undertake.

Unlike drug trafficking, where the product is gone once it's sold, human traffickers "use the person over and over and over again."

Graciela Marquina, a graduate student at Florida State, worked on the project and interviewed some of the victims of the prostitution ring.

The young women and girls, duped into believing they were coming to Florida to work as waitresses or nannies, were closely guarded and frequently moved from one city to another.